With a two year old metaphorically under my belt and a house renovation underway my thoughts have turned to how to decorate Hector’s new room when we move in. After all he’s no longer a baby so a nursery really isn’t appropriate for his needs any more.

Whilst his cotbed will still be firmly in use when we move to the house, along with his chest of drawers, rocking sheep and chair I really do need to start thinking about future proofing his personal space so that it’s relevant to him as he grows older.

Rather than squirrelling away all my pinned images on a secret board I thought I’d share some boys’ bedroom inspiration with you in today’s post in the hopes that you might offer up some of your own decorating top tips and secret shops. Also please don’t be misled by the title of today’s post as these ideas easily lend themselves to both boys’ and girls’ interiors; I’ve purely labelled it as such since I’m talking about it in the context of Hector’s room.

Colour Schemes

Hector’s nursery which you can see here has a calming colour palette of grey, off-white and oak-coloured wood. I love this combination and it’s something I’m keen to carry over to his new room so the walls will be painted in Malm by Fired Earth. That said I want to add a splash of depth to the room to mark the transition from baby to young boy. Initially I toyed with mustard yellow but now I’m veering towards a forest green which is currently Hector’s favourite colour (and mine too!). I’ve yet to decide on the exact hue so if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them!

Storage

Storage is KEY! I mean seriously important. Hector has accumulated a vast amount of plastic tat in his two years on this planet despite my regular purging of the toy cupboard and when we move to the new house we’ll have considerably less space to hide it/store it tastefully.

At the risk of inviting in some controversy here, I believe bedrooms should be calming restful places which means that the majority of Hector’s toys will remain downstairs. So whilst yes Hector’s room is his personal space, it’s also a place I want to be free from clutter with minimal distractions from the main purpose of the room – sleeping. Granted this will change as he grows older and reaches his teenage years but I suspect we won’t be in this house by then.

I really REALLY love the green trunk on castors in the slider at the top here which would double up as a huge hiding space for tat but also as a handy temporary table which could be pushed around the room as desired. Any ideas on where to purchase similar would be gratefully received.

I spotted this black suitcase from The Tipi complete with brass fixings and wooden handle and fell in love. Equally these wooden storage crates with dove grey trim would look just at home in the utility room or stacked up on shelves keeping everything in place.

This wooden pull-along cart is also ridiculously sweet.

I’m still in two minds as to whether to add a desk into Hector’s room; he’s still too young to use it for any educational purpose and any creative activities can be carried out on the breakfast table downstairs. How amazing is that grey house/desk combo in the gallery above though?!

Prints & Accessories

Hector’s room will definitely have carpet underfoot…most likely in a grey shade to help protect (read disguise) against muddy activities and general grubbiness. I’m not sure if an additional rug is necessary but I really love this beautiful rug from Rowen & Wren complete with geometric shapes and cool hues.

My mum recently found a small vintage chair that used to belong to me when I was Hector’s age; actually upon seeing it I was flooded with memories and I knew I had to add it to Hector’s room. Granted it’s a bit grubby and it does need sanding down and possibly painting which I’m hoping to get to grips with in the next couple of weeks but I thought it could double up as a beside table if nothing else.

We have tonnes of pictures…some of which you can see in Hector’s nursery home tour which will be following him to his bigger room but also a stack that we’ve had framed up in the interim featuring everything from personalised name prints to animal alphabets. I’m not sure whether we’ll prop these on Ikea Mosslanda shelves or create a gallery wall with them; I suspect that this will be something we decide on once we’re in situ.

We also have some old pictures of cars which we bought from eBay way before I even got pregnant with Hector. I don’t like their grey mounts and black frames though, instead much preferring the white simplicity of the aeroplane wall in the slider at the top. Since Hector is a complete petrol head I think they’d be right at home in his new room so I’ll be taking a trip to the framers to get them redesigned.

Staying with the accessory theme Ste and I bought some Trook hooks when we were on our babymoon in Norfolk which we still haven’t added to Hector’s room along with a vintage French postal bag to store toys and a couple of French shopping baskets. They’ll all be added to his new room with gusto along with some french vintage wall letters from Tea and Kate. All of these items are a nod to his heritage.

I like the idea of incorporating some more mature lighting into Hector’s room now for when he’s old enough to read in bed. Ok ok so we’re skipping ahead some years now but I can’t be doing with channelling out plaster to incorporate wall lighting at a later date. This wall light from House Doctor is the perfect accompaniment; it’s unobtrusive yet sophisticated enough for an older boy’s room.

Since the new colour scheme will encompass blue and green tones I’ve been scouring the internet for a small vintage or vintage inspired globe but haven’t been having much luck. Do any of you have any ideas where I might be likely to find one?

Bedding

Choosing fun and beautiful bedding is probably one of the easiest ways to add instant impact to a room without breaking the bank. I’m a huge fan of Cologne & Cotton and of The White Company because the materials from which they make their bedding feel luxurious and they wash incredibly well as well. I am keen to add more colour though and typically these two brands tend to veer towards the white side of the spectrum; again any thoughts on bedding brands you cannot live without would be much appreciated.

I think that’s it for now; it’s food for thought anyway. I’d love to hear how you made the transition from nursery to bigger kids’ rooms. Was it a gradual thing? Did you start with a toddler bed? Or did you go full on Kevin McCloud and redesign the whole room from scratch? Why not share your stories in the comments box below…

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